Bobby Petrino: Former Arkansas Razorbacks Head Coach Should Take a Year Off

Bobby Petrino is jobless, but trying to find work as a coach right now would be a terrible decision.

There's no denying that Petrino is a fantastic coach, but the best move for the former Arkansas Razorbacks head coach would be to lay low and not be involved with the football world for at least a year.

Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com tweeted earlier in the week about some NFL teams taking interest in the unemployed coach.

Unbelievably, I'm hearing there's NFL interest in Petrino as a position coach.

However, taking time off from the game to get his life in order would be ideal.

Given his fallout and epic lies, Petrino needs to just get away and let the story pass. Sure, his name will be mentioned quite often during the 2012 season, but right now, the story that has ruined multiple lives is still fresh, and jumping into coaching elsewhere is the wrong call for Petrino.

It's no secret Petrino's greatest accomplishments as a head coach have been at the collegiate level. As with every year, new jobs pop up at the end of the season, and that's what Petrino needs to wait for.

Yes, the disastrous lies ended Petrino's tenure at Arkansas and further tarnished his image and reputation as a coach, but some athletic director and school will take the gamble. His character is certainly in question, but everyone is well aware of his ability to coach football. Petrino can win, and that's what matters to a lot of schools.

Plus, after a year off, a program's view will likely be that the story is well in the past and Petrino has learned from his mistakes. Even if he hasn't, Petrino has suckered teams in before, so he's definitely capable of doing it all over again.

One can only hope that the man has learned from all of this, though, and that he will be saint-like for the remainder of his life. Petrino choosing not to appeal his termination is a great start.

Look, what Petrino did was wrong and despicable, and Arkansas made the right call to fire him. However, he, and most everyone else, knows that he is too good of a coach to stay out of the game, so some school will pursue him as time moves on.

Whether or not it's actually a smart decision to bring Petrino in is certainly up for debate, but the fact of the matter is, Petrino knows how to win, and for some, winning is more important than anything else.

Jumping ship to the NFL right now to try to get away from this mess wouldn't do Petrino any good. If he wants to attempt to put this fully behind him, taking time off and then coming back and winning big with another college program is a step in the right direction.

It's not going to be easy getting back into coaching because of the scandal, but getting away for a year will definitely help.